BABY SHOWER INVITATION: taten coleman shirley

I finally made another round of photographing some recent design projects and I am going to try to share those over the next few weeks. First up, is one dear to my heart - a baby shower invitation for my sister-in-law, Taten. I designed the invitation based off of the bedding she chose for the nursery. It has the sweetest forrest animal pattern - foxes, hedgehogs, owls, and raccoons - with shades of brown and green and nature elements. Perfect for a precious baby boy! Here is the invitation I designed:

Along with the invitation, I designed matching onesies to hang for decoration and as a gift for the mommy to be. I designed 3 options and ironed them onto six onesies - front and booty. For an iron on, I was so pleased with how they turned out and I think they will get some good use out of them. 

The onesies were a big hit and I can't wait to see sweet baby Cole in some of them! Please feel free to contact me for any custom design work.

BACKYARD PROJECT: update #1

We are a little over a week into Melrose's backyard project and we have made a good bit of progress, so I thought it was a good time to share the first update! To refresh your memory of the before pictures or the big picture goal, click here. 


Our landscapers started on the fireplace first and boy is it beautiful! If you refer to my inspiration, you can you see how I developed the design by combining all three fireplaces. The mason said he had never built a fireplace of this design but he did a great job and I couldn't be happier! 

 It's finished! Can't wait to build a fire in it!

They wrapped the stairs in the flagstone - no more ugly, broken concrete!

Lining up the rock for the flower beds. 

That's it for now! They are currently still working on the flower beds and starting construction on the pergola. I'll share more as the progression continues. What do you think so far!?

ATTACK OF THE BLACK

Black is continuing to be a huge trend in home decor and it is really making me want to take the plunge. Have you? Now, I just have to figure out where amongst all of Melrose's stark, white walls it could live. I posted a while back about my love for it on the walls, and then a huge trend hit of painting your doors black (which is just as amazing and dramatic), and now it seems that it has taken over window trims. Every room I have seen with black window frames is so intriguing and I am drawn immediately to the bold color. With curtains, or without, the black adds the perfect amount of BAM to the room. What do you think? If you aren't ready to dive in head first, trimming your windows with black could help you test the waters. I think you would be pleased!

simple room ... white walls, minimal furniture and decor, sheer curtains ... the black trim adds so much interest to this beautiful space

 one of my favorite dining spaces ... the bronze pendants aren't bad either

 via lonny mag

 via high street market

 so open and airy ... the black trim draws your attention in

 I would love, love, love to bath in this gorgeous bathroom. Really, I would just like to own this bathroom and stare at it everyday. 

via

via lonny mag

 Jenna Lyon's office via Oh Happy Day

 Joanna Goddard's bedroom decorated by Little Green Notebook

via lonny mag

What do you think? Where do you prefer to apply your coat of black? 

Check out more on my pinterest board

BACKYARD PROJECT: before

Melrose's backyard project has just kicked off and before I show you updates along the way, I wanted to share some before pictures and our final inspiration for the makeover. I know I have posted several inspiration posts over the past year, but I have finally narrowed it down. Here is what I am aiming for:

Now that you know what I have slated for design, here are some pictures of our current backyard so you can put it all together. It will all make sense now!

This picture is taken from standing at the back door off of the kitchen. I am standing on a tiny platform with stairs leading down to the yard (you can see it in other pictures). See all that gravel? Apparently the previous owners used to pull through the side gate (on right) and park back here. We do not use it for parking so all this gravel is being removed and sod is being laid. Can you say bocee ball court?

Same view, but from standing on ground level. Those two existing patios are screaming for some company. The arbor with confederate jasmine will be covering the large, stone patio and the fireplace will sit on the small, concrete pad. I am planning on having a dining set on the left side and a "lounger" on the right side in front of the fireplace.

Standing at the back of the stone patio facing what will be the fireplace. The fireplace should conceal a lot of the neighbor's yard and chain link fence. And, we are planting tea olives along the rest of the fence to create privacy. We are replacing all the current grass with new sod so it will look consistent and hopefully grow in the bare spots. Brandon loves to work in the yard so he is going to have a lot to keep him busy!

There are two large flower beds that we have not done a single thing with since moving in. We just left them 'b' since they needed the soil tilled up and new top soil laid. Too much for me to do! The landscapers are re-aligning the stone walls, making them even along the width of the yard, fixing the stairs, and planting a variety of evergreens and perennials. I decided to plant gardenias along the back for their greenery and lovely smell, then peonies for the cut flowers, and alternating lamb's ear and hostas in the front. I'm excited to finally see some life back here! And between the gardenias, confederate jasmine, and tea olives - the back yard should smell amazing!

Well, that is it! What do you think? I will share an update post asap! And if you follow me on instagram, you have probably all ready seen a sneak peek of the fireplace. We have had a few days of bad weather lately so it has set the project back a day or two, but it is all ready looking great - I can't wait to share the progress with you!

KITCHEN HARDWARE: gold

I would absolutely love to modify a few things in Melrose's kitchen - lift the cabinets to the ceiling, add an open shelf, change the backsplash to subway tile, Carrara marble for the counters, add a range hood for the stove, and the list could go on! But, while our kitchen may not be my personal design taste, it is in great shape and I'm actually pretty happy with it, for the time being. 


One easy solution to give our tiny Homewood cottage a face lift, would be to replace the cabinet hardware. I would love to update it with some fancy gold knobs and pulls ... you all know I have a love affair with all things gold.  I have not accomplished this yet - I can't seem to find pulls wide enough! - but I have definitely had it on my mind. Here are some fabulous inspiration of photos of kitchens sporting gold hardware.

the mix of black and white cabinetry here is delicious

 again, black and white combo

 and black and white paired with gold

 I love these campaign inspired pulls

 perfection

 a fireplace in my kitchen? yes, please!

 can't get enough of that subway tile, open shelving, and gold accents

 love this overall look

all sources on my pinterest board 

 What's your choice and source for hardware?